Practice Management ArticleUCAOAShareIn the December article, Alan Ayers, UCAOA's Practice Management Content Advisor, discusses the importance of reaching out to primary care providers — especially when patients need care and their primary care provider's office is closed or when its appointment book is full — urgent care can fill the gap.

Now Online in JUCMUCAOAShareA new urgent care Images Challenge case is now available only on the JUCM website. Review the case of a 30-year-old man who complained of feeling something stuck in his throat. Consider what your diagnosis would be, then check the case resolution to see if you were right. Click here take the JUCM Images Challenge.

The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine supports the evolution of urgent care medicine by creating content that addresses the clinical practice of urgent care medicine and the practice management challenges of keeping pace with an ever-changing healthcare marketplace. Are you an urgent care provider who would like to write for our journal? Send an email to editor@jucm.com for information on our author guidelines.

Industry News

Acute kidney injuries up sharply in USHealthDay NewsShareThe incidence of the most severe form of acute kidney injury increased dramatically in the United States over the past decade, and deaths associated with the condition doubled over that time, a new study says.More

ACOs, already surging, poised for even more growthAmerican Medical NewsShareThe number of accountable care organizations has increased significantly in recent years and is expected to grow even more quickly in the immediate future, with physician practices under increasing demand to lead or participate in them.More

Patients' health IT savvy judged lackingMedPage TodayShareAs hospitals and physicians move to wider use of electronic health records, patients need to become more engaged and be made aware that their records are accessible, health technology experts said.More

Simple steps prevent surgical site infectionsAmerican Medical NewsShareA quality improvement project involving seven prominent hospitals around the country cut the rate of colorectal surgical site infections by 32 percent, the hospitals said. One in seven patients who undergoes a colorectal procedure experiences a surgical site infection. These infections extend patients' hospital stays and sometimes contribute to their deaths.More

Specialists: ACO cost center or potential partner in efficiency?ACO Business News via Atlantic Information ServicesShareSpecialists typically are seen as cost centers for accountable care organizations, not as partners in the organization. But if ACOs choose the highest-quality and most cost-effective specialists and then integrate them, they potentially could generate significant cost savings for the ACO, consultants say.More

Report: Synthetic pot sends thousands to hospitalUSA TodayShareK2, Spice and other synthetic drugs that mimic a marijuana high sent 11,406 people — mostly teenagers and young adults — to the ER in 2010, according to the first report on the substances from the federal government's Drug Abuse Warning Network. The report, the first to analyze the impact of the popular herbal incense, found that children ages 12 to 17 accounted for one-third of the ER visits.More